


The Blood That Bonds Us Can Bond You Too

by mismatched_ideas



Series: Starting Gun, Photo Finish [9]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Cuddling, M/M, Meeting the Family, Panic Attacks, a lot of OCs - Freeform, olympian AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-13 16:46:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11189250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mismatched_ideas/pseuds/mismatched_ideas
Summary: To say that Seung-gil was nervous would be an understatement. It might actually be the biggest understatement in the entire world because Seung-gil was convinced he was going to throw up any moment.





	The Blood That Bonds Us Can Bond You Too

**Author's Note:**

> This was started for Seung-gil's birthday but... well... obviously that didn't happen. 
> 
> Also, I will go back and edit this another time. Right now I have a cold and don't want to do anything but eat easy mac and listen to "Alice Isn't Dead" and maybe play some video games.

To say that Seung-gil was nervous would be an understatement. It might actually be the biggest understatement in the entire world because Seung-gil was convinced he was going to throw up any moment.

“Hey, Seung-gil, are you okay?” Phichit looked at him concernedly. 

“I’m fine.” Phichit raised and eyebrow and Seung-gil sighed. “Sorry. I’m nervous.”

“Don't be, they’re all going to love you.” Phichit reached over and took Seung-gil’s hand, squeezing it while smiling, “You’ve already met a lot of them, it’ll be fine.”

“I’ve talked to them over Skype.” Seung-gil corrected, “I’ve only actually met your sisters. And I’ve never met them all at once. And,” He added, anxiety becoming plainer in his voice. “Those times, we weren’t engaged.” 

“Don’t worry, it’s going to be great. It’s not even going to be that long of a visit so if it does go terribly wrong, we can leave quickly.”

Seung-gil wasn’t sure that was all that calming, especially given the reason they had to leave quickly was because this was simply a small layover on their way to Tokyo. It was a bit out of the way but Phichit’s family insisted they meet Seung-gil properly.

Seung-gil wanted to wait until after the Olympics but Phichit insisted this would be better, otherwise, his two sisters who were going to be at the Olympics as well would pester Seung-gil the entire time. Seung-gil was pretty sure they would do that either way and, anyway, it wasn’t like they were going to see that much of each other during the games. 

“You’ve met Seua and Song.” Phichit scooted as close as he could get to Seung-gil. That wasn’t all that close thanks to the armrest between them, but that was good enough for Seung-gil. “And they love you, I swear.”

“I know, but it’s not them I’m worried about.” Seung-gil sighed, “I’ve only talked to your parents once and didn’t you say your extended family was coming too?”

“Oh, don’t worry about them.” Seung-gil knew Phichit meant well, but that hardly put his mind at ease. “They’ll love you no matter what.” 

Phichit leaned his head against Seung-gil shoulder, the other man putting his arm around his Thai fiancé. 

\---

Honestly, Seung-gil felt bad that he’d never visited Thailand in a whole five years of him and Phichit dating. After they first moved in together Seung-gil was planning a trip home and Phichit decided to tag along and meet Seung-gil family. They’d seen what there was to see and spent a lot of time inside, Phichit working hard to endear himself to Seung-gil’s family. He didn’t have to work hard, though, because they’d fallen for him the moment they met him. 

That visit had been during winter and it had been pretty cold, though not that horrible. He sort of wished they were visiting Thailand in winter too because this humidity was going to be the death of him. 

“Seung-gil, it’s been too long!” Seua and Song met them at the airport, Song pulling Seung-gil into a hug. 

“It’s good to see you, Song.” She let him go and he nodded to Seua, who thankfully had decided to give him space. “You too, Seua.” 

“I thought you’d feel better if we picked you up, since we’ve already met.”

“My husband is in the car.” Song smiled, “I don’t think you have to worry too much about him, though.” 

“How are my niece and nephew?” Phichit asked as they walked out of the airport. “Do they miss their favorite uncle?”

“ _Wang-ja-nim_ , you’re their only Uncle.” 

“So what? I can still be their favorite.” Phichit glanced at his sisters, who were giving both men a _look_. “What?”

“Was that a pet name?” Song smirked, “That was a pet name, wasn’t it?”

Seung-gil was already turning red when Song turned to look at him.

“What does it mean? It’s Korean, right?”

“Yes…” He contemplated his options. He didn’t really like any of them, especially since he hadn’t exactly told Phichit what the actual translation was. Seung-gil knew he should, but he’d gotten embarrassed after the first time he used it, in his defense he was half asleep, and never told Phichit. “It’s just a way to refer to your boyfriend.”

“I’m not you boyfriend anymore.” Phichit pointed out.

“Well, it’s for any male partner.” Seung-gil was fine telling Phichit what it meant now, they were engaged after all, but not in front of Song and Seua. Seua would probably take it in stride but Song would never let either of them live down the nickname. It was sweet and sappy and might as well be dripping with honey and as much as Seung-gil liked it, because deep down he was all of those things, he wasn’t about to let the entire world know that. 

Song was obviously not going to let him go with only that half explanation but they were luckily saved by her husband’s arrival. 

Song’s husband was a smiley man a few years older than Song. They’d been married for a while and had two kids, one born not long before the 2016 Olympics and the other born not long after the 2016 Olympics. The Oldest was a girl, Fon, and she was almost five while the boy, Joke, was almost three.

Seung-gil was good at remembering things, especially names, but he had an honestly hard time with Phichit’s family. And that wasn’t only because there were so many to remember but also because, for the life of him, he would never understand Thai nicknamed. For his entire life, Seung-gil had never had a nickname and never called anyone else by a nickname, not even his sister. But everyone in Phichit’s family had a nickname and they all wanted him to use those. Seung-gil didn’t even know the proper names of most of Phichit's relatives. 

You’d think nicknames would be easier to remember but for some reason, Seung-gil found they never stuck properly in his head. Luckily, he’d convinced Phichit’s aunts and uncles that he should call them by their given names. Phichit’s mother insisted he use a nickname for her, and he relented when he realized he’d never get the pronunciation of her given name right, but he at least convinced his father to not insist on nicknames. It just that, to Seung-gil it felt wrong to call these people he barely knows, people he wanted to like and respect him, by nicknames. 

Phichit’s siblings and cousins, though? They wouldn’t have it with this proper name thing. The few he’d talked to over Skype had said something about their given names being too proper. Seung-gil wanted to explain to them that he had often been called uptight and that nicknames didn’t suit him, but Phichit just shook his head and promised to help him learn their names. 

“I’m sorry to say that almost everyone came.” Seua seemed to be apologizing to Seung-gil. “We all hate to admit it, but Pui is one of the favorites in our family so everyone wants to meet his fiancé.”

“Seua,” Phichit whined, “Don’t call me that.” Seung-gil smirked at Phichit’s huffing when Seua only laughed. 

“ _You’re cute_.” Seung-gil murmured to Phichit in Korean, which turned him pink. Phichit didn’t know much Korean, but he’d made a point to learn things like that so he could embarrass Seung-gil with cute endearments. Unfortunately for Phichit, he hadn’t counted on how attractive he found it when Seung-gil said the same things back to him. 

“Damnit, Seua, I’m going to have to learn Korean!” Song complained.

“Oh, he just called me cute.” Phichit said, turning Seung-gil red. Seung-gil hadn’t really thought through the fact that Phichit had more power to embarrass him in this situation. “But, of course, he’s the cute one.”

Song pretty much squealed, way too excited by Phichit and Seung-gil’s flirty quipping. At least Seung-gil thought she was too excited. 

“How’s _Yâa_?”

“Almost doing too well, if you ask me.” Song laughed, obviously not meaning any harm. Seung-gil tried to pull out who they were talking about but his memory was failing him, “Sometimes I forget she’s not fifty.” 

Seua glanced back at Phichit from her seat in the front of the car but when she spoke, it was in Thai. Normally, she wouldn’t want to leave Seung-gil out but at the moment she was more concerned about worrying him, “ _Are you worried about what she’ll say?_ ”

Phichit glanced at his fiancé but Song had already engaged him in conversation, distracting him even though Phichit knew Seung-gil was acutely aware of everything going on around him in situations like this. He wasn’t always the best when it came with interpersonal skills but that made him more alert in this kind of high stress and, in his mind, high importance meeting. 

“ _She can be… judgmental._ ” Seua didn’t have to respond, her silence was agreement enough. She had always been a bit of a black sheep in their grandparents’ eyes because she was the oldest and yet she never married or had children. She knew what it was like to try and live up to impossible expectations. “ _And you know how she can be about foreigners._ ” 

“ _But that South Korean solider saved Uncle’s life during the war._ ” Seua paused, but not for long since they were almost home. “ _She’ll love him._ ”

“ _I know._ ” Phichit smiled to himself, “ _I don’t know how anyone could not._ ”

“You’re a sap,” Seua said, in English, as they arrived at the nice apartment complex Phichit grew up in. “Oh, and make sure you take some time to talk to Lek while you’re home.”

“Is something wrong?” He asked because even though Lek was the second youngest, she’d always acted more like the second oldest. 

“Nothing is wrong… she just has something to tell you and I think you’ll be more suited to talk to her about it.” 

“Okay.” He slid out of the car, Seung-gil doing the same and meeting him at the trunk to grab their bags. “You okay?”

Seung-gil nodded, holding his hand a little away from his body as a way to show Phichit he wanted to hold hands. It was a cute gesture that Phichit shouldn’t even be conscious of anymore but he loved it so much that he made a point of always taking a second to appreciate it. He liked to take a second to appreciate much of what Seung-gil did because even after five years of dating, Phichit still found he loved most everything Seung-gil did. Even when they got on each others’ nerves or fought about this or that, Phichit could say with confidence that he loved almost everything Seung-gil did and said. 

\---

Seung-gil realized maybe he should have fought harder against the decision to meet Phichit’s family like this because if he felt horribly out of breath at parties of friends and teammates, then he was currently suffocating. 

Not including him and Phichit there were, apparently, seventeen people crammed into Phichit’s home. It wasn’t a small apartment by any stretch of the imagination, Phichit was one of four after all, but when you shoved this many people into it, the room started to contract.

A lot of Phichit’s cousins were their age or younger. Apparently, Twain and Nam, Phichit’s parents, were both the oldest in their respective families. This meant they had the oldest children, even if two of Phichit’s cousins were married with children and only one of his siblings could say the same. That, of course, had more to do with Seua’s insistence on remaining single and Lek’s seeming agreement on that matter. 

All of Phichit’s family seemed to love him. Some called him Phichit and others called him Pui, even as he continued to whine about the nickname. Still others called him Chai, which he didn’t complain about but he did seem to find it somehow embarrassing. 

It only took Seung-gil ten minutes of being in the crowded apartment to feel like he was going to throw up, faint, and possibly throw himself of a window. He wanted to meet Phichit’s family, wanted them to like him as much as they seemed to like Phichit, but it was so hard. So when Phichit offered to show Seung-gil his childhood bedroom, the room where they’d be staying, Seung-gil may have answered too quickly and that may have given some people in the apartment the wrong idea.

Phichit closed his bedroom door, drowning out much of the din, and Seung-gil breathed a shaky exhale. Phichit’s hand had never left Seung-gil's and now he took his fiancé’s other hand too, leaning their foreheads together. 

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay. Breathe with me.” Seung-gil did what he was told, not realizing how erratic his own breathing was until Phichit forced him to focus on it.

“Thanks,” Seung-gil whispered just as someone knocked quietly on Phichit’s door.

Phichit smiled, pushing back Seung-gil’s bangs and placing a small kiss on his hairline before heading to the door.

“Oh, Lek, what’s up?”

“I just wanted to talk to you.” Seung-gil was surprised how quiet Lek’s voice was. She wasn’t the loudest of Phichit’s siblings by any stretch of the imagination, she was probably the quietest of all four, but she was never really quiet. 

“Now’s not a great time.” He glanced back at Seung-gil, who was sitting on Phichit’s small bed.

“It’s fine.” Seung-gil called, “I’m fine.”

“Only if you’re sure.” Phichit tilted his head and waited for Seung-gil to nod, which he did with a small smile. “Okay, Lek, come on in.” 

“Lek.” Seung-gil nodded to the young woman, who smiled back. The way she smiled was so different from Phichit. While Phichit and Song looked a lot like their mother, Lek and Seua took more after their father. This was true in both looks and temperament, with Lek and Seua being more reserved. Seung-gil suddenly realized that in all the meeting he’d done so far, he’d not gotten to actually meet Phichit’s parents, just cousins and on pair of Aunt and Uncle. “It’s good to see you again.”

“You too.” Even as she looked uncertain, she smiled and chuckled. “Sorry about my family.” 

“No need to apologize.” He did his best to smile at her. He was pretty sure that in the ten or fifteen minutes he’d been in this house, he’d been less than culturally sensitive. The thing was, Phichit had spent so much of his life traveling or even living abroad that he wasn’t the best person to learn Thai culture from. Seung-gil didn’t know how to pick apart what was his culture, what was his worldly socialization, and what was just Phichit. The internet had been of some help but the moment Seung-gil stepped into Phichit loud, crowded, and hot home he’d forgotten it all. He hadn’t even been able to find Phichit’s parents and give them the small gift he’d bought them at JFK, realizing he hand nothing to give them only after they’d gotten settled to wait for their plane. “If you’d like to speak to Phichit alone, I can let you two talk.”

“No need.” She smiled and Seung-gil was pretty sure the level of comfort she was displaying was one of the most endearing things anyone in Phichit’s family had said or done yet. “Phichit… I guess I need your advice, on how to tell everyone.”

“Tell everyone… What?” Lek stood with her back against the door and her hand still on the door handle, as if she wanted to be able to escape at a moment’s notice. 

“I’m– I’ve– Well…” She took a deep breath, her smile completely gone. Even her nervous laughter was gone, a tic that seemed to a staple of, at the very least, Phichit and his siblings. “When did you tell them you were dating Seung-gil?”

“Umm… I told Seua and Song the same time as you. I think that was a month after.” Seung-gil started at that. He hadn’t even told Mi-na they were dating until they’d been going out for six months. Of course, Phichit probably hadn't been racked by as many anxious fears about the probability of their relationship having any sort of length as Seung-gil. 

“Yah, but what about _pôr mâe_? What about _Yâa_?”

Phichit blinked at his sister who, at the moment, didn’t seem two years older but instead two younger. 

“I told _pôr mâe_ just before we moved in together. I, umm, I haven’t actually told _Yâa_ …” The strangest thing about this conversation, in Seung-gil’s opinion, was that they were having it in English. It seemed to him that not only was Lek comfortable with him being in the room but also wanted him to hear this conversation. “I know she knows… I just haven’t actually told her.”

“Wait,” Seung-gil felt bad butting in, but he was starting to wonder who this " _Yâa_ " was and why everyone seemed so interested in her wellbeing and her opinion of Seung-gil. “Who are you talking about?”

“Aah,” Phichit rubbed the back of his neck, giggling in the tone he only used when he was anxious and had been caught trying to ignore the cause of said anxiety. “Our grandmother.”

Seung-gil just stared at his fiancé for a while before finally deciding that this wasn’t a joke or a prank of some kind. “You haven’t told your grandmother about me?” More importantly, he’d never told Seung-gil about his grandmother.

“I’m sorry, I was just so nervous and I didn’t want to make you more nervous.” But Seung-gil was already gone, his mind racing through every possibility for how today could – no, would – end in him being somehow chased out of Thailand. “Seung-gil, please, listen to me. You’re okay, it’s going to be okay.” Phichit was panicking while he watching Seung-gil panic, all while Lek tried to look like she wasn’t watching this private moment play out in front of her. 

Phichit was holding onto Seung-gil’s face, keeping his eyes from falling to his lap, and his face was serious. 

“Seung-gil, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done this to you.”

“I need some time.” He choked out and Phichit hesitated for a moment before letting go.

“Lek and I can go talk in the other room. Please, if you need anything you can get me.” Phichit squeezed Seung-gil’s hand before fishing some headphones out of his pocket and giving them to the pale man. He nodded gratefully, Seung-gil was always amazed by Phichit ability to remember things that Seung-gil consistently forgot, and then laid down with his phone playing his music too loud like he always did. 

Phichit smiled at him, even as his face was concerned, before pulling Lek out of the room and into her old room. 

“ _Sorry._ ” She apologized, sitting on her old bed while Phichit pulled out her desk chair to sit on. “ _I feel like that was my fault._ ”

“ _No, it was mine._ ” Phichit hated himself for keeping all this about his grandmother from Seung-gil, and all this about Seung-gil from his grandmother, but he’d honestly not known what else to do. Or, he knew what he should do but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. “ _What’s going on with you?_ ”

“ _I’m dating someone._ ” As surprising as it was for her to get straight to the point, Phichit was glad for it. One of the things he did like about his time in America was how straightforward everyone was. It really made life easier even as he fell into the same patterns of half-answers and vague responses that he’d grown up with. “ _An American._ ”

“ _Oh… I see why you’re asking about grandma, then._ ” Phichit felt tired all of a sudden, so very tired. This shouldn’t be as hard as it is, but then again, nothing ever was. “ _How’d you meet?_ ”

“ _Last Olympics._ ” Lek fidgeted with the sheets on her bed for a long time before giving up on her attempt at saying nothing more. She reminded herself that she’s the older sibling here and that she doesn’t need to be afraid of any of this, not after her little brother had done so many brave things and showed their more conservative family members that he’d do what he wanted and would love who he wanted. “ _She’s a swimmer. Her name is Sara Torres._ ”

“ _How long have you been dating?_ ”

“ _Two and a half years._ ”

If Phichit had been drinking something, he would have spit it out.

“ _Two and a half years?_ ” He sputtered, “ _How?_ ”

“ _I don’t post everything online like you do._ ” She countered.

“ _But why not tell us? Why not tell me?_ ”

“ _There was so much… A woman, a foreigner… she’s four years younger than me._ ” She sighed, “ _I’m not like you, Phichit. I don’t know how you do it but I’m not like you. I don’t know how to tell people about myself. I don’t know how to be… forthcoming._ ” 

Phichit laughed lightly, “ _You should really get to know Seung-gil, you two are very similar._ ” 

“ _You really love him, don’t you?_ ”

Phichit nodded, “ _I really do._ ” He sighed, “ _I have to go check in on him. If he’s not up to it, I’ll have to smooth things over out there… It’s my fault, I should have known this would be too much for him. He’s already stressed about Tokyo and I should have listened when he told me he wanted to wait to meet everyone. But I never listen, I just keep pushing because I’m selfish and don’t deserve him at all._ ” 

Phichit sighed, feeling good to say some of what he’d been feeling out loud. He was always planning to tell Seung-gil but both men were guilty of not telling each other what their anxious about if they think the other one is anxious. Once Tokyo was over they’d both probably spend a night cuddling and spilling all their concerns to each other but for now, it felt nice to tell someone. 

“ _Little brother,_ ” Lek stood, walking over to stand over her brother. She smiled at him before stooping over to hug him. “ _You are a great man and Seung-gil is just as lucky to have you as you are to have him. If he is anything like me, I can tell you that he love you very much. He knows he can trust you and he knows you’ll take care of him when he needs your help. You two fit well together and I’m so happy for you both._ ”

“ _Thanks._ ” He hugged her back before standing. “ _I better get to meet your girlfriend in Tokyo._ ”

Lek laughed, both moving to leave. “ _Don’t worry, Song has already made the same demand. Sara is excited to meet you both._ ”

“ _I can’t wait._ ” 

It was her turn to give thanks. “ _Thank you, for talking to me. And for being brave enough to bring Seung-gil here. I’m not much of an older sister, I’ve left all the hard stuff to you._ ” 

Phichit laughed, waving her away. “ _You’re silly. Without you guys, I’d never be as confident as I am._ ” He smiled at his lap. “ _We’re going to be okay._ ”

“ _Yah, we are._ ” 

She smiled before disappearing back into the crush of family, all talking and wondering when Praya would show up and where Seung-gil was and what everyone thought of the pale, dark haired man Phichit arrived with. They all agreed he was awfully handsome, if not too serious. Currently, they were arguing about how many medals he’d won for his sport, there was also some confusion about what sport that was, and what metal those were made of. 

Phichit only caught a tiny bit of this conversation, smiling at the pleasant ruckus before heading to check on Seung-gil. 

\---

“Hey.” Phichit kneeled down at the edge of the bed, smiling at Seung-gil. “You okay?”

“Yah… Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” Phichit frowned, “Why do you always apologize?”

“Because I make everything difficult.”

“Don’t say that.” Phichit crawled onto the bed. It was a little too small for two people but if Seung-gil needed more room, Phichit could just get off. “None of this is your fault.”

Seung-gil leaned towards Phichit, his face leaning into Phichit’s shirt and muffling his words a little. 

“I wish I was more like you.” Phichit wanted to protest but Seung-gil didn’t give him the time. “You charm everyone you meet. My parents and my sister love you. It’s just so…” 

“Easy for me?” Phichit finished, “You can say it, it’s true.”

“I don’t mean that it’s always easy for you.” Seung-gil wished he had the words to explain how he felt. He didn’t want to lessen the work that Phichit puts into his relationships. 

And it was really that that Phichit was so great at. It was putting in the time that came easily to Phichit. Seung-gil didn’t think about the little things that keep friendships alive, not like Phichit. He could say with certainty that he had friends now, some that were even his friends before Phichit’s, but he still wasn’t good at the small gestures. Phichit helps him with their mutual friendships and the friends that are wholly his are used to Seung-gil. Sara knew that just because Seung-gil didn’t text her or sent her one-word answers didn’t mean he didn’t want to talk to her. 

“You, just, always know what to say and when to say it and people don’t make you like this.” 

It was because today had been too much in general. He was already stressed about Tokyo and then on top of that he was stressed about this trip. Then JFK had been more crowded than usual, travel in the summer was always so much, and the plane felt so crowded. The man in front of his leaned his chair back just a little too far and the woman to his left took up two arm rests and the only solace on that flight was Phichit to his right. They got off the plane and it was crowded. They got to the apartment and it was crowded. They got to Phichit’s room and Seung-gil mind was crowded. 

“We all have things we’re good at.”

“I know… I just wish I was good at different things.” 

And maybe that was the true problem with him, that he found no value in his own skills. Maybe his problem was that he’d give up all his gold medals for a social life that was simple and anxiety free. He’d give up his arms or his legs or his near perfect aim for the ability to get up and walk into the other room and be charming. 

“Seung-gil, you might not believe this but you’re braver than me. You’re stronger than me.”

“What?” Seung-gil tilted his head up to look at his fiancé. 

“You and Yuuri and Lek are stronger than me. I’ve felt anxious before but never to the extent you guys do and not as frequently. To feel anxiety even as minor as that on a daily basis would kill me. I don’t know how you do it. How you can get up and go out into the world when the world is honestly really scary I’ll never understand. But I think it’s because you’re strong and brave and you don’t let something like how scary everything can be stop you.” Phichit smiled, “And I know that probably doesn’t make you feel any better but I want you to know I’m always here for you.”

“I know.” Seung-gil smiled back, slight and soft. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to go back out there.” Phichit whispered, “I’m not going to make you.”

“I want to,” Seung-gil said because he did. He wanted to meet Phichit’s family and he wanted them to like him. “But maybe give it a few more minutes.”

“Sounds good to me.” Phichit snuggled closer to Seung-gil, who put his face back into Phichit’s chest. Being this close was nice, the smell of his fiancé calming him down in a way he never expected another person to. Music and mental arithmetic had been the ways Seung-gil always calmed himself down but now he had someone who could do the same with soft words and proximity. 

“We should get a dog.” Seung-gil offered, because he wanted a dog and also because it seemed like a logical step in their relationship.

“Why not wait until we retire, so we don’t have to leave the dog alone.”

“I guess…” Seung-gil bit his lip, “I guess I was thinking that we should get a dog now because when we retire…”

“What?” Phichit murmured the question, unconcerned by Seung-gil’s dodging of the topic he’d brought up himself. 

“Never mind.”

“No, tell me. What is it?”

“I guess, I was thinking that maybe once we retire we could…” Seung-gil squeezed his eyes shut and took a leap of faith. “Adopt?”

He and Phichit had never talked about kids. Not once. It wasn’t that they were purposefully ignoring it, just that it never came up. But Seung-gil thought about it. He’d always helped take care of Mi-na and then when he met Song’s daughter for the first time when she was still young, well, he felt a sort of yearning he’d not expected. He never thought about kids, never really thought he’d be at a place where he’d ever want to be put in charge of a small, fragile human.

“Adopt?” Belatedly, Seung-gil realized that maybe talking about kids before he and Phichit were married hadn’t been his best plan. 

“Like a child.” It was too late to turn back now, though he did add a quick, “After we’re married.”

“Really?” Somehow this had come easier than asking Phichit to marry him which seemed completely insane. But Seung-gil had been so comfortable and felt so safe that it just sort of slipped out. 

“Only if you want to.” Seung-gil assured hastily, “It was just a thought.” 

“It was a good thought.” Phichit kissed him, long and sweet, before continuing. “We should definitely talk about it. Maybe after The Olympics.” He giggled, “And not in my house. If my dad hears us talking about it, he’ll keep asking when he’s getting more grandchildren.” 

Even Seung-gil laughed at this, a lot of the tension gone from his body as he leaned into Phichit’s shirt. 

\---

A while later, neither of them were keeping track of time all that closely as they drifted in and out of sleep, there was a knock on the door.

“Phichit. Seung-gil. it’s Lek.” 

“Come in.” Phichit called, sitting up a little. “What’s up?”

“Didn't mean to wake you up.” Seung-gil sat up and Lek’s mouth twitched like she was trying not to smirk. “ _Pôr mâe_ and _Yâa_ just arrived and they’re wondering where you two are. I can cover if you need more time.” 

“I’m good.” Seung-gil stood, stretching a little until he realized Phichit was snickering, “ _Wang-ja-nim_ , what is it now?”

He was so busy giving Phichit a look, neither of them noticed the slightly humored raise of Lek’s eyebrow.

“Look in the mirror.” Seung-gil raised an eyebrow but did what he was told, groaning when he realized the entire right side of his hair was sticking out at various angles that weren’t down like it was supposed to.

“I’ll never understand why you find this so funny every time it does this,” Seung-gil informed his fiancé before looking at Lek. “It’s been years and he still can’t get over the fact that it does this.”

“What? It’s funny.” Phichit bounced over to stand behind the taller man. “Like, it just sticks like that.” 

“I don’t understand how yours doesn’t.” He tried to pat it down but, like usual, it stayed put. “This isn’t going to move.”

“Come on.” Phichit was still giggling, pulling him towards the bathroom. “Lek, tell them we’ll be out in a minute.” 

\---

Seung-gil’s hands were shaking as he handed his gift, just a box of chocolates, to Phichit’s parents. It had been neatly wrapped before they arrived but the flight had left the packaging crinkled and disorderly. Seung-gil had tried to convince Phichit to let him rewrap it but the Thai man insisted it would be fine.

“Thank you for letting me stay with you during our layover.” Seung-gil found he couldn’t, for the life of him, remember any of the Thai greetings and pleasantries he’d researched before coming. He really cursed his memory for always failing him at the worst possible times. “I’m happy to finally meet you in person.” 

“We’re so happy to meet you too, Seung-gil.” Phichit’s mom, Nam, was beaming. In person, he was struck even more but Phichit’s resemblance to her. Song did look like Nam, but Phichit looked almost like a carbon copy of the woman. It definitely helped that Nam kept her hair almost as short as Phichit’s while Song had long hair she liked to curl whenever she had time. “And thank you for this, you didn’t have to.”

“It was no problem.” Seung-gil felt silence stretching out as everyone in the room seemed to have fallen quiet to watch Seung-gil meet Phichit’s parents and grandmother. 

When Phichit’s grandmother stepped into view and started to speak Seung-gil really wished he’d been able to grasp some Thai. English had been hard for him but Phichit tried to teach him some Thai and Seung-gil had been completely lost after only the first lesson. 

“She says hello and wants to know what your name is.” Phichit murmured his translations to him, smiling but noticeably stiff. “She understands English but doesn’t really speak it.”

“Hello.” Seung-gil did his best to speak clearly because he knew his accent got thicker when he was nervous. “I’m Seung-gil Lee. It is nice to meet you.”

He bowed because instincts were stronger than the lacking information about Thai culture his brain was trying to sort through. She didn’t seem especially displeased by his statement, instead, her face remaining passive. 

“She says her name is Praya Chulanont.” Phichit smiled, sighing with relief before laughing a little. 

“What did she say?”

“She said you seem strong enough to be a Chulanont.” Phichit had noticeably relaxed, leaning a little closer to Seung-gil without seeming to notice he was doing so. “And she says you look like the South Korean who saved my uncle’s life.”

Now the woman was digging through her pockets, pulling out a wallet and beckoning Seung-gil over.

She flipped through some pictures she had stuffed into her wallet, there seemed to be mostly pictures in her wallet, to be honest, saying names as she went through. 

There were old pictures of Phichit’s father and uncle. Some pictures of Praya when she was younger. There were a lot of pictures of Phichit, his siblings, his cousins, and his nephews. Finally, she found the picture she had apparently been looking for, holding it out for Seung-gil to take. 

“He’s the man who saved my uncle.” Phichit half explained, half translate. “Wow, he does look like you.”

Seung-gil smiled at the picture. It was of two young men, both smiling despite the awful circumstances. The one who was obviously Phichit’s uncle, Seung-gil thought his name was Lor, was leaning heavily on another man. That man had dark hair and dark eyes, his face serious even as he was smiling. Seung-gil really couldn’t believe how much this stranger from so long ago looked so much like him. 

He flipped the picture over and found it dated January 1953 and had names written on it. One was the name of, he assumed, the Korean soldier and the other was, again this was an assumption, Phichit’s uncle’s name.

Phichit looked at Seung-gil strangely when he snorted at the name. “What?”

“Lee is a common surname.” He explained, “This man’s name Young-sik Lee which is funny because he has a very common given name too.”

“And the same last name as you.”

“Yep.” Seung-gil chuckled again. “It really is a common surname.”

Suddenly, Praya was turning to face Seung-gil, looking at him closely. He stiffened, glancing at Phichit for only a moment before handing her the picture and standing still. 

“You are a good man.” Seung-gil had always thought that for as much as Phichit looked and acted like his mother, he didn’t really sound like her. He sounded a little more like his father but that hadn’t really fit either and he just assumed it was a mixing of genes. But now, hearing her speak to him in English, he could really hear where Phichit’s voice came from in his family line. 

And it wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed the similarities in their voices early, it was just that… Okay, he’d been distracted and not paying that much attention to her because he was busy clinging to Phichit’s translations. 

“Thank you.”

“I am not finished.” He definitely didn’t think that sounded ominous. “You are a good man and you make Pui very happy.” 

Any quiet chatting that had been going on the room had stopped. It seemed that even those who weren’t blood-related to Praya were hanging on her every word. It wasn’t that odd that they’d be interested in what their elder had to say but he would have appreciated if they at least pretended to not be watching this interaction. 

“I will need to speak with your family, of course.” Seung-gil nodded, “Are your grandparents alive?”

“Two are.”

“Good, we will plan the wedding.” Seung-gil wanted to turn and look a Phichit but decided better of it. Apparently, she liked him, for now, and he was going to keep it that way for as long as possible. “Now stop being so stiff and enjoy the party.”

Phichit giggled next to him, leaning over to knock their shoulders together, and Seung-gil let go of his breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Okay. Thank you.” Phichit spoke to his grandmother for a little and Seung-gil wandered off, finding himself basically cornered by Lek.

“Hello?”

“My prince?” 

“Excuse me? Seung-gil blinked, not understanding until Lek’s lips quirked up into a mischievous smile.

“ _Wang-ja-nim_.” He groaned when he realized what she was saying, “It’s cute.”

“Please don’t.”

“What are you doing to Seung-gil?” Phichit had wandered his way over to their corner. 

“Just think it’s cute that he calls you ‘my prince.’”

“Lek!” Seung-gil buried his face in his hands.

“Huh?” Phichit tilted his head to look at Lek, “What?”

“Oh, sorry!” It was too late for him, they should just move on and leave him here. “I didn’t know he didn’t know.”

“Didn’t know what?” 

“ _Wang-ja-nim_ means ‘my prince.’” Seung-gil explained through his hands. 

“That's so sweet!” Phichit pealed Seung-gil hand from his red face, smiling at him. “You’re so sweet.”

And, despite himself, Seung-gil was smiling too because it was hard for him not to when he was faced with the brightness of his fiancé; his sun; his prince.

“I love you.” Seung-gil kissed him on the cheek and Phichit nearly squealed in delight. 

His Phichit.

**Author's Note:**

> I did a lot of research into Thailand and Thai culture and just really more research than I needed to do. It's because I'm paranoid about getting something wrong. That said, even after all my research I'm still paranoid so, like, if anything is wrong I'm sorry. I tried really hard but, like, there's only so much research I can do given I'm only fluent in one language. Especially if I'm totally off on the whole nickname thing but I tried to get multiple sources because I'm paranoid and even now, with my multiple sources, I'm still paranoid. My brain is p much convinced all those sources were elaborate hoaxes created by someone who wants me to look like a fool. 
> 
> But, I wanted to write this so I swallowed my paranoia and just went with it.


End file.
